
By Breeana Greenberg Oct 13, 2023 in the Dana Point Times
Celebrating Arts and Humanities Month, community members will have the chance to tour Dana Point and learn more about the city’s public art and historic places through the inaugural Trolley Art & History Tour on Saturday, Oct. 21.
City Council recognized October as the National Art and Humanities Month during the Oct. 3 meeting, as the city’s newly appointed art and culture ambassadors announced the new event and provided an update on the program’s goals for advocating for local arts and culture.
The ambassador program aims to promote the arts and culture in Dana Point. The city’s ambassadors include Maria Elena Banks, Alicia Erlinger, Natalie Hribar-Kelly, Nancy Jenkins, Ashley Keene, Jennifer Keil, Karin Schnell, Anthony Small, Laura Smith Hatch, Alex Wilson, Dana Yarger, and Bob Zasa.
“The people who have been appointed to these ambassador roles are all outstanding representatives who truly appreciate what makes Dana Point special. They each bring their own unique talents and abilities to this commitment and have already made a big impact. I can’t wait to see what more this team can accomplish for the city while elevating the awareness and reputation of our arts and culture community,” said Mayor Mike Frost.
The City Council voted to dissolve its Arts and Culture Commission in favor of a larger Art and Culture Ambassadors program in June in an effort to engage more community members in advocating for a diverse slate of arts-related programs, events and more in Dana Point.
In a press release, Hatch noted that the ambassadors “hope to achieve cross disciplinary collaboration to bring a variety of programs, events, and activities to the area, featuring local artists, performers, and celebrating our unique Dana Point history and culture.”
During the council meeting, Smith Hatch shared that Art and Humanities Month offers an opportunity for communities to “get together and celebrate the arts for an entire month.”
“It’s considered the largest collective annual celebration of the arts, and it’s really just meant to encourage citizens to explore arts and humanities in their local communities,” Smith Hatch said. “And that’s what we’re doing here.”
The ambassadors’ first major event, the Trolley Art & History Tour, features a city tour that will stop at public art and historic landmarks throughout Dana Point. The two trolleys will depart at 11 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. from Prado Square.
The two trolleys will be hosted by an Art Ambassador and docent from the Dana Point Historical Society who will provide information at each tour stop, including the Lantern Bay Park Stairs, Doheny Village Mural, Hide Drogher Sculpture, Watermen’s Plaza, and Woodruff Homes. The tour will last roughly one hour and 15 minutes and will stop at a total of 14 locations throughout town.
“We’re going to be sharing all of the public art within the city, and it’s going to be exciting,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins noted that Dana Point has quite a few historical landmarks still standing that will be explored on the tour, which will be an opportunity “to see art and the historical landmarks.”
The tour, Schnell noted, is an opportunity to stop and appreciate the public art pieces that most people speed past as they drive through town.
“We’re going to show you a lot of really hidden gems that we have in this town,” Schnell said. “It’ll be fun.”
Station Craft will host a reception following the trolley tours with live music and featured artists.
The reception is open to the public, whether or not community members attended the trolley tour, Small said.
“I hope the community looks at the reception as a ‘Meet the Ambassadors’ with some excellent artists in Ashley Keene and Ethan Espinosa and some cool music with Sidney Bowen opening for me,” Small said.
Small will also perform music from his new album, “El Viejo,” with Matt Samia of Mojave Ghost. Artwork from Keene and Espinosa will be on display throughout the restaurant.
“I think that (featuring the ambassadors) is a neat thing, because it shows that the new arts ambassadors are engaged, creating, and subject matter experts frankly in the various arts and community programs,” Small said. “I’m proud to get to share my music with the community, and I’m also very proud to share Ashley’s artwork.”
Small noted that the ambassadors are subject matter experts in art, music, galleries, community programs, engaging students and more.
“The community will have the opportunity to meet the new arts ambassadors and share what they might like to see in the community, art and music-wise,” Small said. “And if they’re really interested, maybe they’d like to apply to be an ambassador next time.”
The ambassadors also announced that they launched a website that hosts an events calendar, information on public art pieces throughout Dana Point, as well as information about each of the 12 ambassadors.
“We have a vast amount of art in public places here in Dana Point, anything from murals, we have fountains listed, our sculptures, statues, the utility box program, the Elephant Parade, tributes–so this is a great resource for people to come right here and see what we have here in Dana Point,” Smith Hatch said.
The website also features the city’s local artist directory and a list of local art- and culture-related nonprofits.
A limited number of tickets are available for the Trolley Art and History Tour. Tickets are $15 per person and are available for purchase at Dana Point Recreation. Visit danapoint.org or danapoint-arts.com or contact artsandculture@danapoint.org for more information.
The tours will depart from Prado Square located at 34201 Amber Lantern, Dana Point. The reception following the tour will be hosted at Station Craft Brewery + Kitchen, located at 34150 Pacific Coast Highway, Dana Point.
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